Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Medical Team

Learn About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Members of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's medical leadership team bring specialized expertise and a shared commitment to providing the most effective patient care across the organization's full continuum, including acute/inpatient addiction treatment, outpatient programs, and mental health services.

Marvin D. Seppala, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Marvin D. Seppala, MD, is the chief medical officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, and an adjunct assistant professor at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. His responsibilities include overseeing all interdisciplinary clinical practices and maintaining and improving standards of care for the Foundation's addiction treatment programs and services throughout the country. A national expert on addiction treatment, pharmacological treatments and integration of evidence-based practices, Dr. Seppala launched the organization’s influential Comprehensive Opioid Response with the Twelve Steps (COR-12™) protocol for treating opioid addiction and co-authored Integrating the Twelve Steps with Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. He appears in the media frequently and is also author of Clinician's Guide to the Twelve Step Principles, and a co-author of When Painkillers Become Dangerous, Pain-Free Living for Drug Free People, and Prescription Painkillers, Hazelden Publishing. Learn more

Medical Directors

Jeffrey Fabacher, MD

Psychiatrist, Naples

Jeffrey Fabacher, MD, leads the medical team at Hazelden in Naples, Florida, where he provides psychiatric oversight, and coordinates detoxification and medical services for clients. His expertise includes more than 30 years of experience in psychiatry and neuropsychiatry. Fabacher is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. He is board certified in psychiatry and has been in private practice in Naples since 1991. Previously, he practiced psychiatry at the Menninger Clinic. An active member of the southwest Florida community, Fabacher has served as president of the Collier County Medical Society and held various positions with the Florida Psychiatric Society, as well as sat on the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of Collier County.

Joseph Lee, MD

Medical Director of the Youth Continuum

Joseph Lee, MD, has extensive experience in addiction treatment for youth and families from across the country and abroad, providing him an unparalleled perspective on emerging drug trends, co-occurring mental health conditions, and the ever-changing culture of addiction. A triple-board certified physician, Lee completed his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma, his adult psychiatry residency at Duke University Hospital, and his fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry from John Hopkins Hospital. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's Substance Abuse Committee. He is also the author of Recovering My Kid: Parenting Young Adults in Treatment and Beyond, which provides a candid, helpful guide for parents in times of crisis. Learn more

Marc Myer, MD

Marc Myer, MD, is a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and previously worked as a family physician. An active member of the American and Minnesota societies of addiction medicine, Myer also serves on the executive committee for Physicians Serving Physicians in Minnesota.

Jeffery Young, MD

Psychiatrist and Medical Director, Beaverton and Newberg

Jeffery Young, MD, is medical director of Hazelden's outpatient center in Beaverton, Oregon, and the Springbrook campus in Newberg, Oregon where he also serves as director of the Health Care Professionals Program. Young received his medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University and is Board Certified in General Psychiatry and certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine. His clinical work throughout his career has included working with patients and healthcare professionals who have psychiatric and substance use issues. Previously, he served as medical director for the Providence Health and Services, Behavioral Health Program, Oregon Region.

Katarzyna Litak, MD, ABAM

Psychiatrist, Plymouth

Katarzyna Litak, MD, ABAM, is board certified in Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Interested in co-occurring disorders and understanding disruptive behaviors. (Medical School of Wroclaw in Poland, Adult and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University of Minnesota)

Gregory McFadden, MD, PhD, DLFAPA

Psychiatrist, Betty Ford Center, Rancho Mirage

Gregory McFadden, MD, PhD, completed his medical degree and a PhD in Physiology at the University of Hawaii, School of Medicine. Dr. McFadden completed his Residency and Chief Residency in Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital and also completed a Research Fellowship in Psychopharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Board certified in Psychiatry, he has conducted over 80 FDA-sponsored clinical trials on new medications under study for mood and anxiety disorders at the Feighner Research Institute in San Diego and has lectured widely on their use. He previously maintained a private practice at the Scripps Memorial Hospital-La Jolla, specializing in the treatment of substance use disorders co-occurring with mood and anxiety disorders. Dr. McFadden has been named as a Distinguished Life Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association for his work in clinical research and co-occurring disorders. CA license #G60437

Willow Naimark, MD

Psychiatrist, Newberg

Willow Naimark, MD, is American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology-certified for both general and addiction psychiatry. Her interests include dual diagnosis, medication management, and psychoeducation. 2006, New York Medical College

Cedric J. Skillon, MD

Psychiatrist, St. Paul

Romana Zvereva, MD

Psychiatrist, West Los Angeles

Romana Zvereva, MD, has done her training in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry at Cedars - Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA. She completed her addiction training at Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage in 2004. Dr. Zvereva received training in chronic pain management at Cedars Sinai Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia Clinic as well as Loma Linda Chronic Pain Program. She has performed professional evaluations for the Lawyer's Assistance Program since 2004 and had participated as a member of Nursing Diversion Board Evaluation Committee for 8 years. Dr. Zvereva has been ASAM certified and received Suboxone waiver in 2002. Medical License #A73036 - The Medical Board of California

Physicians

Frank Melo, MD, ABAM

Staff Physician, Plymouth

Frank Melo, MD leads the medical team at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Plymouth, MN where he provides medical services and oversees the Comprehensive Opioid Response-12 (COR-12) program. Dr. Melo has experience treating youth and adults with substance use disorders complicated by major health conditions. He has developed an expertise in opioid use disorders in pregnancy. Dr. Melo served as medical director for an opioid treatment program where in addition to treating individuals with opioid addiction, he developed educational/training curriculum for the medical staff; and collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Health to update policies and procedures consistent with standard of care and evidence based practice. Dr. Melo is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He earned his medical degree at the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Centro America in Costa Rica and completed Family Medicine Residency at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine and is a member of Minnesota Academy of Family Practitioners Research Committee.

Lisa Vollmer, MD

Addiction Medicine Physician, St. Paul

Dr. Lisa Vollmer is the addiction medicine physician at Hazelden in St. Paul. She has practiced hospital and primary care medicine for large health care organizations and community clinics with specialty experience in pain management and addiction medicine. Dr. Vollmer received her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She interned at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH for Internal Medicine and completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Nurses

Jill Seward

National Nursing Service Director/Chief Nursing Officer

Jill Seward oversees standardization of evidence-based nursing practice and consistent nursing protocols across the organization to ensure the highest quality care. She is also responsible for the development and implementation of a standardized staffing model, and championing frontline improvement efforts within the nursing and medical teams. She is passionate about patient centeredness, patient safety, and excellence in quality of care and patient experience. Seward obtained her associate degree in nursing from the College of St. Catherine in Minneapolis, and her bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is currently completing her master of science in nursing leadership and administration through Capella University in Minneapolis.

Amy Tinney, RN, BSN, CARN

Minnesota Adult Director of Nursing, Center City and St. Paul

Amy Tinney, RN, BSN, CARN, provides oversight for nursing staff at Hazelden in Center City and within the mental health clinic at Hazelden in St. Paul. Tinney joined the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in 2000 and later became a primary unit nurse. A dedicated advocate of excellence in patient care, she served as a clinical nursing supervisor and as clinical nurse manager before being named to her current position in 2016. Tinney completed her certified addiction registered nurse certificate in 2009, and received her bachelor of science in nursing from American Sentinel University in 2013.

Nurse Practitioners

Judith Neren Dean, APRN, CNS, MSN

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Center City

Judith Neren Dean, APRN, CNS, MSN, is an advanced practice registered nurse with special interests in the assessment and treatment of co-occurring disorders, multiculturalism, trauma and recovery. Dean received the National Science Foundation Merit Award. She holds a master of science in nursing, psychiatry/mental health from the University of Minnesota, has been elected to the International Society of Nursing, and is board certified.

Donna Roberts, ARNP, BC

Nurse Practitioner, Naples

Donna Roberts, ARNP, BC, received her bachelor's in English from the University of Albany, New York; her associate's degree in nursing from Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, New York; and her master's in nursing from the Sage Graduate School, Troy, New York. She is certified by the American Nurses' Credentialing Center as an adult nurse practitioner and is a member of the American Academy of Nurses, and the Nurse Practitioner Council of Collier County.

Rebecca Ott, DNP, RN, APRN-BC

Nurse Practioner, Rancho Mirage

Rebecca Ott, DNP, RN, APRN-BC is certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and has worked with patients ages 10-101. She received her Masters of Science-Nursing in 2005 and completed the Doctoral of Nursing Practice in 2015 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Areas of practice have included outpatient, inpatient and psychiatric emergency medicine in California for a county contracted 5150 evaluation crisis unit. Her areas of specialty have included working with child-adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry in a Geriatric Outreach program in Nebraska, she concentrated on addiction psychiatry in Nebraska while serving as a director for the Crisis Stabilization Unit contracted by Region III, performing detoxification and stabilization before transferring patients to next level of care. Rebecca moved to the Coachella Valley with her husband in March 2013 to be Administrator for Oasis Crisis Stabilization and Psychiatric Health Facility before joining Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation at Rancho Mirage in October 2014.

Kenneth McRae, MSN, APRN, CNP

Nurse Practitioner, Center City

Kenneth McRae, MSN, APRN, CNP, graduated from Metropolitan State University in 2011 with bachelor of science degree in nursing. In 2015, McRae graduated from the College of St. Scholastica with a master's of science degree in nursing and specialization as an adult/gerontological nurse practitioner. He is certified as a nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. McRae came to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in 2015 from United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked in the emergency room as a registered nurse. Other roles within United Hospital included cardiac stepdown, inpatient mental health, and medical/surgical units.

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and
communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation's largest
nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding
of the Betty Ford Center. With 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York,
Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery
solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults.